Date: June 22, 2026
In just a few months, the Reparations Program will mark seven years of work. While there is still much to be done, this milestone offers an opportunity to reflect on how much has already been accomplished. A significant part of that progress is due to the extraordinary contributions of our lead researcher, Maddy McCoy.
Maddy joined our team in 2020 and has been an invaluable asset ever since. As an independent researcher, her work focuses on the early African American experience in the mid-Atlantic region. She has partnered with historic house museums and sites to help identify and interpret the lives of enslaved individuals connected to those spaces, ensuring that their histories are neither overlooked nor misrepresented.
Within the Reparations Program, Maddy has played a central role in uncovering the lives of 606 laborers who toiled at VTS between 1823 and 1951. This includes 372 named individuals and 234 unnamed persons who labored as enslaved people, free Black people during slavery, and emancipated Black employees during Reconstruction and Jim Crow. These names, soon to be memorialized, represent both a recovery of history and an act of recognition, long overdue.
Maddy’s impeccable research has deepened our understanding of the Alexandria landscape and its relation to labor, construction, and systems of servitude at VTS, which enables us to tell a fuller, more accurate history of the institution.
Just as important, Maddy approaches her craft with deep care and personal investment, particularly in her engagement with descendants. She understands the healing power of this work, and she carries that responsibility with integrity and compassion. Her precision, care, and commitment do not go unnoticed, and I am deeply grateful for all that she brings to our team.
Ebonee Davis-Hayes
Director of Reparations
Office of Multicultural Ministries